Determinants of anterior chamber depth in a large Caucasian population and agreement between intra‐ocular lens Master and Pentacam measurements of this variable

Purpose To establish the main determinants of anterior chamber depth ( ACD ) in Caucasian subjects and examine agreement between IOL Master ® (Carl Zeiss, Meditec) and Pentacam ® (Oculus Inc.) ACD measurements. Methods In a cross‐sectional study, 1006 right eyes of 1006 healthy subjects were subjected to a general ophthalmologic examination using the Pentacam ® , IOLM aster ® and OCT RTV ue ® (Optovue Inc.). The variables recorded were age, sex, intra‐ocular pressure, spherical refractive error, axial length ( AL ), central corneal thickness, corneal diameter, iris thickness, and anterior chamber depth, volume and angle ( ACA ). The effects of these variables on ACD were analysed by multivariate linear regression. Results Mean age was 49.1 years (range 18–84); 61% were women. In 98.3% of the eyes, ACD could be measured using the IOL Master and in 98% the Pentacam was used to give mean depths of 3.30 ± 0.42 mm and 3.35 ± 0.43 mm, respectively, for the two instruments. Agreement between these devices was high. In men, ACD was 0.13 mm on average deeper than in women (p < 0.001). ACD was correlated with ACA , AL , corneal diameter, spherical refractive error and age (p < 0.001). Five variables – age, sex, spherical error, corneal diameter and ACA – were able to explain 74.1% of the variation produced in ACD ( R 2  = 0.741; p < 0.001), among which age emerged as the main determinant (partial R 2  = 0.279; p < 0.001). Conclusions Age, sex, spherical error, corneal diameter and ACA correlate highly with ACD and together serve to explain much of its variation. When used to measure ACD , the IOLM aster and Pentacam show excellent agreement.